You Are Not Alone
by Aphiria
Summary: She needed a partner and he needed a club to join. They were the answer to each of their problems in more ways than one. Renji/Tatsuki
1. Partners

*Bleach and all its character's belong to Tite Kubo.

* * *

Karakura Town was making itself ready for the end summer. The birds were chirping. The sounds of children playing could be heard. And it was all pissing Tatsuki off. She had just received a letter from the Karakura High School's martial arts team. This year it was required that she have a partner to be able to participate in the events. She ripped the paper in half then in a dozen tiny pieces and thought what to do. She had worked so hard for this and look what was happening! It would all be for nothing because she needed a partner. And even if she did get a partner, if they didn't win their bouts in the tournaments she couldn't move forward. This new rule the council set in place must be to smite her. Last year she beat everyone, boy and girl alike, from every team in her district. Maybe she shouldn't have mouthed off to them after changing the weights classes so that she was forced into a smaller class with fewer people. She heard the front door close. She scrambled around her room to pick up the pieces of the letter. Her brothers were home and this was something she wouldn't let the three elder boys know.

"Neechan, did you get the mail?"

The youngest of her elder brothers walked into her room as she snatched up the last strip of paper. He watched her on the floor.

"Yeah, I put it on the kitchen table Hiroshi." She gave him a bright smile as she picked up the pen that she had "dropped."

"When are Kanaye and Jiro coming home?"

The oldest of the Arisawa brothers, twins, owned their own clothing store and they usually got home late.

"They have to put a new shipment of shoes on the racks. They said not to wait up for them. I brought us take out."

"I'll be there in a minute."

She waited until she heard her door close before she unballed the crushed paper in her fist. Hiroshi was making his way through college to become a doctor like their parents. They had lost them in a plane crash when Tatsuki was young. Ichigo's father, Isshin, had made sure that they were well taken care of. That's how she became close friends with Ichigo. She sighed as she threw the scraps away. Thinking about her parents always made her heart ache. Mostly she felt sad because she would never know them. But she did know her brothers. And they would raise all kinds of hell if she told them about the new rule. She rubbed the back of her neck as she thought. Martial arts was her ticket to college. If she didn't have that then her brothers would pay her way. That is what she didn't want. Kanaye and Jiro took a hobby and made it into a booming business. And Hiroshi had all the brains, she was smart but she couldn't hope to get as many scholarships as he did. And she refused to let her brothers take care of this too. For as long as she remembered they had worked hard to give her everything that she needed. It was time for her to get something for herself. But now… she looked back at the trash can. Tomorrow she'd have to hunt out a partner that wasn't terrified of her. She would understand if no one in the martial arts club wanted to partner with her. She had beat them all and being the only girl in the club didn't make it any easier. She picked herself out of her desk chair. She would need all her strength for the start of school tomorrow.

* * *

"Rukia, you got that letter?"

The red head watched as the petite shinigami munched on bunny shaped gummies in a sparse hall at Karakura High.

"What letter?"

"The one where it say you have to be in a club. Something about getting students involved in extracurricular activities."

The raven haired girl looked up at him, "Yes, I read it. I think it's nice that they want us to be active in school."

He frowned at her. She was getting way to into this school thing. "Well, which club are you in?"

Rukia suddenly stopped in the middle of the hall interrupting the now heavy flow of traffic. He stopped quickly enough not to run into her but not her finger. It jabbed into his chest. "You are not joining the culinary club with me and Inoue."

He scowled at her in the middle of the hall ignoring the stairs he was getting. No matter where he went he got stares. He wasn't used to it and damn did it get annoying. "Why the hell not?"

"Because it's our girl time."

He saw the gentle smile on her face and knew that this was important to her. He got it. He wouldn't join the stupid club.

* * *

"Ichigo!"

Tatsuki caught her oldest friend just as he stepped outside of his house. She stopped her jog and started to walk along side him her breath flowing easily into a calm rhythm.

"You got that letter?"

Tatsuki nodded as she adjusted her shoulder bag, "Yeah, except that the Martial Arts club took it a step further. I have to have a partner now. And they have to keep up with me."

Ichigo gave the girl a confused look. She shook her head. "I know. It sucks. But I came to ask you if you were still doing the Young Doctor's club."

She saw Ichigo pull at the strap of his bag. Something that he did when he was nervous. Or when he lied to her. He used to do it when they were younger, except that he would pull at his pockets. "Yeah, I am. Sorry Tatsuki."

She eyed him but let it go. If he wanted to tell her something she'd have to wait until he came to her. That was how their friendship worked, or at least how it used to work. She sighed as she braced her arms behind her head as the continued on their way to school in the warm morning air.

"I wonder what club Chad is joining."

* * *

"Abarai-kun what brings you to school so early?"

Renji sat on the top of his desk which happened to be right onside of the Quincy's.

"I need a club to join."

"Ah, you wouldn't be interested in joining the sewing club would you?"

Renji fought back a cringe. He wouldn't be caught dead in the sewing club. But he couldn't just come out and tell the glasses wearing boy that. During their battles together they had formed a stronger bond, even if neither wanted to admit it.

"I don't think you'd want me in your club."

"If your fighting is like your sewing then I would say so."

He gritted his teeth before he could retaliate. He had to keep a low profile if he wanted to stay in the human world. He counted to ten before he spoke. A trick to calm him down that he picked up from Rukia.

"You know where Chad is?"

The Quincy used his long slender fingers to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"I don't think you'd be interested in joining the poetry club."

Renji blinked. The big guy was into poetry? That was just well, weird. But who was he to bash Chad for what he liked. He sighed. Now he'd have to go to desperate measures.

"You wouldn't have happened to see Ichigo yet?"

"You're living with me Renji. You miss me that much?"

The red head glared at the substitute shinigami. He was going to keep throwing that in his face. It isn't his fault his dad took it upon himself to turn his barely used study into a guest room for him. Isshin knew about his shinigami powers and he wouldn't have to work like a dog for Urahara. Renji just had to help in the clinic every once and a while and help Ichigo's sisters, Karin and Yuzu, around the house. Though the girls didn't need any of his help, they were more mature than he was on some levels.

"I wanted to ask you about something but since you're being a dick…"

Ichigo laughed at Renji's sour face.

"Come on, what did you need me for?"

When the red head didn't offer anything up Ishida informed Ichigo. "Renji needs a club to join."

Renji glared at him only to receive a cool blue stare.

"Really?"

Renji's death stare was cut short by a girl's voice. He turned his head to see that one of Ichigo's friends had followed the strawberry head in. He remembered her from her black pixie hair but her name slipped his mind. He would have tried to remember if he wasn't too busy being taken aback by the way she was looking at him. She wasn't staring at him like he was a piece of meat like most girls did. She was looking at him like she was trying to find out how much he was worth. That alone made him feel like squirming under her brown eyed gaze.

"I need a partner for the Martial arts club."

Renji didn't know what to stay and he still didn't know what to make of the girl.

"Renji you remember Arisawa Tatsuki."

Renji was finally pulled from his stupor by a smirking Ichigo, "Yeah, you're Inoue's friend."

He nodded but the Tatsuki girl didn't acknowledge his hello, "So are you interested?"

He huffed, she was all business. "You don't know if I can even fight."

"I know that whoever Ichigo hangs around with can handle themselves. So is it a yes or no?"

She sure was a quick fire. She shot her question at him before he could even think of anything to say. He did need to join and club and he could fight. It wasn't with his sword but it would give him the chance to work on his hand to hand combat.

"I guess it's a yes."

She nodded, "Then meet me outside of the gym after school."

He could only watch, dumbstruck, as she smiled at him then at the Quincy.

"Ishida."

The solemn boy nodded his head as she turned to Ichigo.

"I'll catch you later."

She walked out of the room but stopped and turned back around at last minute. "Don't be late Abarai."

The small group was quiet as they heard her footsteps fade away down the hall. Renji broke it first.

"I felt like she was inspecting me for a Captain's position."

Ichigo laughed, "that's Tatsuki."

"Heh."

Suddenly Ichigo's eyes were boring into his. "Don't screw this up for her. Martial arts is her way to college."

Renji immediately threw his defenses up, "Don't get your panties in a twist."

"Tatsuki is different from other girls Renji. She doesn't like asking for help. Take this seriously."

Renji fought the urge to swing at the spiky haired teen. He knew all about taking things seriously. Almost dying in Hueco Mundo for Orihime was a show for his seriousness. Committing treason to save the women he loved was another. The woman he loved. He sighed and shook his head, sitting down in his desk. The woman he loved was the reason why he was here. He knew for a long time now that his love was one sided. Slowly that love was shifted into brotherly love but it still hurt to think about it. He was sent here by his captain to basically keep an eye on Rukia. Byakuya was wary of the substitute shinigami. Any brother would be wary of the man that had stolen his beloved sister's heart. But Renji couldn't fault Ichigo for it. He made Rukia happy. And for Renji, that was enough.

He slid down in his desk and watched as the rest of the students poured into class before the teacher. Starting school off with a heavy heart wasn't exactly how he pictured his second year of human high school but at least he had joined a club.


	2. New Do

*Bleach and all its character's belong to Tite Kubo.

* * *

Tatsuki stood barefoot on the floor mat in the gym. And she wished that she could drag her eyes away from the thick brush of ink on Renji's chest. The white fighting uniform gaped open on his stocky frame to reveal how his tattoos didn't just stop on his face, it trailed down the sides of his neck, to his pecs. And from the cut off markings she was sure that it trailed even further down his chest.

"So what now?"

She almost jumped. That was too close to being caught staring at him for her liking. Anger at herself rose to the surface.

"Try to take me down."

The look he gave her screamed are you kidding. That pissed her off even more.

"I'm not going to break. Now do as I say. Try to pin me down."

The red head didn't stall at her second command. She landed on top of him, one knee in the center of his back the other pinning his free hand to the ground as she held his other hand behind him, pusing his cheek into the mat.

"You're fast."

She let him up, "again."

This time his attack was almost immediate. He didn't hold back. She ducked his leg's long reach that was aimed at her chest and caught his arm flipping him to the mat again.

"That was an illegal move Abarai-kun."

He grunted as he pulled himself up. She could see that he wasn't half bad but he didn't know the rules. What was annoying her though was that she couldn't place what style he was using. It was fast so she thought about Tae Kwon Do but he was also using moves that were meant to take his opponent down quickly and effectively so she thought Jiu Jitsu. She could tell that he had some kind of formal training but it was bugging her that she couldn't tell what it was. She was good at reading people. Extremely good at reading martial art moves as she was trained in several different kinds. For an hour she had evaded his hands and feet trying to guess his style. She slipped past his grasp every time. Even now he didn't come close to pinning her down though he hadn't dropped the ferocity of his assault. He kept at her. She evaded his reach just in time to knock his feet out from under him in a spinning kick.

"Another illegal move Abarai."

He looked up at her as he wiped his hand across his mouth, "If you're going to beat the shit out of me you might as well call me Renji."

She smiled down at him and offered him her hand. He took it and hefted himself back up.

"I'm going to start from scratch with you. I have no idea what style of martial arts you learned but every move you tried on me would get us both kicked out of the ring."

She watched as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm kind of rusty."

She shook her head, "You did fine Renji."

Somehow she believed her own words. And somewhere in the back of her head her inner self cackled a bone chilling laugh. The council wouldn't know what hit them. And neither would the Otawa High School Martial arts club either. Their first match was in a month, more than enough time to get Renji ready. She walked happily off toward the girl's locker room to change.

"Tatsuki?"

She turned back to the red head hiding her embarrassment at crawling into her own head and forgetting all about him.

"Oh sorry, that's it for today. You passed my entrance exam. Meet me here after school every Tuesday and Thursday."

She waved at him happily as she slipped past the heavy door.

* * *

Renji scratched his head as he walked back to the Kurosaki's. He didn't think that she was that different. But damn was he wrong. The girl dominated him all over the mat. Even his best moves where nothing compared to hers. She was like water. She just flowed through his hands. This was the first time he ever remembered anyone pinning him down in hand to hand combat. And the girl was less than half his size! The top of her head didn't even meet his shoulders. He must have had a dazed look on his face because when he walked into Ichigo's living room the television watching strawberry blonde looked up and laughed.

"I told you she was different."

Renji stared at him in disbelief, "She handed me my ass ten different ways from Sunday."

"Watch your mouth. My sisters remember?"

Renji remembered all right. Karin tested his patience to no end and Yuzu had someone what of a soft spot for him. And Isshin well Isshin was just a little bit bonkers. He enjoyed attacking his son physically and he enjoyed running to Renji for comfort. Getting hugs from the head of household was nothing new to him now. He didn't know whether he should be grateful for fitting into things here or strongly disturbed that he did it so well. He trudged up the stairs and into the room across from Ichigo's. He dropped his books next to his bed. The thought of doing his homework crossed his mind but a hot shower overpowered his sense of propriety. That and food. About halfway through his shower his stomach growled. He finished quickly and arrived downstairs just in time to catch a heavy pot from clattering to the tile floor in the kitchen. Karin frowned at him before jerking it from his grasp.

"Thank you Renji-kun."

He smiled at Yuzu before getting roughly hip checked out of the way.

"Pineapple head get out of the kitchen."

"I'm just trying to help you little snot!"

Karin stuck her tongue at him. He stuck his tongue at her.

"Oi, stop making stupid faces, the both of you."

They both turned around and double teamed Ichigo. They turned to each other with smiling faces as he rolled his eyes. When they realized that they were smiling at each other they quickly turned away. Karin stepped on his foot and he took it as he cue to leave the kitchen. He made his way to the island that separated the kitchen from dinner table and sat with Ichigo. He started to tear lettuce for a salad. He might be a moocher but he worked for his keep.

"So you get along with Tatsuki?"

"Heh, she was different alright but yeah, she's a nice girl."

"You didn't go easy on her did you?"

Renji jerked his head up to glare at Ichigo, "She was kicking my ass and I was going full out."

"Stop cursing in front of my sisters you idiot!"

He wanted to tell Ichigo to shove it where his strawberry head don't shine but caught Yuzu looking at him. He shoved a piece of carrot in his mouth and chewed, ignoring Ichigo's smirk. Living in this house was going to kill him. He just knew it.

Dinner came and went as the mismatched family made their way to watch TV while waiting up for Isshin to get home. Three days out of the week he worked at the hospital and for the rest he worked out of his family clinic. Renji sat on the floor with his back to the couch. He wasn't surprised to feel a small hand tug on his hair. About the third night here Renji was sitting this same way playing a video game with Ichigo and he felt Yuzu's small hand bury itself into his hair. He turned around to catch her turning almost the same shade of red as his long locks.

"I used to let Rukia put it up for me when we were kids."

The smile he got from her as she played with his hair was enough for him to take the laughs he got from the piggy tails she gave him. Now he was sure that it would be the same repeat. Hours later her little hands stilled. He felt around to find tiny, intricate braids woven into his hair. He glared at Ichigo who quickly stifled his laughs as he looked down at his sisters soundly asleep.

"Come on let's put them to bed."

Ichigo pried Karin's hand away from the remote before scooping her up. Renji did the same with Yuzu. He nudged their bedroom door open and padded quietly to the youngest sister's bed. He carefully cradled her with one arm as he pulled back her bed covers with the other. Glancing over at Ichigo, he knew that Yuzu was the neater of the two. Karin's bed looked just like her brother's, messy and well slept in. Renji quickly crossed to the other side of the room and shut the door silently. He followed Ichigo's voice to the kitchen making it just in time to hear him hang up the phone.

"They had an emergency. He'll be home around midnight. I'm not staying up to wait."

Renji nodded and followed him up the stairs. He would never admit it to anyone but the little workout Tatsuki had given him had worn him out. If he was in his shinigami form and not in a gigai he wouldn't have even broken a sweat in practice. But now as he sank into the soft bed he enjoyed the feel of his weary bones. He hadn't felt this worn out since he entered into the academy.

* * *

The second Tatsuki walked into her living room she wanted to turn around and run back out. Her brothers sat there staring at her with docile eyes.

"Niichans, it's nice to see all of you home so early."

"How was your day Tatsuki? Found a partner yet?"

She cringed as she saw Jiro hold up the forgotten envelope. She knew that she had gotten away with this too easily.

Kanaye crossed his arms as she sat in the chair left open for her. "We called the school when we found the envelope. Why didn't you tell us about the new rules?"

She felt the guilt wash over her the second she looked into their worried eyes, exactly what she didn't want. "I didn't want to worry you."

All three of her brothers shared a sigh. Tatsuki sunk lower in her chair. "You should have told us. We could have-"

Tatsuki's head shot up, "I've already found a partner. I've already started to train with him."

She cringed again as their worried eyes turned into curious ones. "Him?"

Tatsuki nodded, "Ichigo's cousin, Abarai Renji. He's my sparring partner."

Her brothers peered down at her and she fought the urge to fidget.

"We would like to meet this Abarai. Bring him to dinner tomorrow night."

"But Kanaye, Jiro, Hiroshi!"

"No buts, we've got to meet the man our little sister plans to be fighting with. We can't have you killing him without ever meeting him. It's bad manners Tatsuki."

She looked up shocked, "I'm not in trouble?"

Hiroshi laughed, "No. We understand that you want to do this for yourself."

"But," Jiro stood up to ruffle her hair, "you shouldn't have to hide anything from us."

"We are your family Tatsuki. We are here for you no matter what." She nodded at Kanaye, her oldest brother.

"Thank you."

"Now, are there any boys you're interested in?"

Tatsuki's palm smacked against her head at her brothers' eager voices. It was going to be a long year.

* * *

The sun felt really nice on Renji's skin. He rolled into the sunbeam with its rays casting directly on his bed. He slept like a rock last night. It was from the magical combination of Tatsuki's ass whooping and the soft bed. He vaguely wondered if she wouldn't mind training on Wednesdays too. He'd have to ask her today before school.

School.

His eyes shot open as he turned to the clock. 7:53. He had to get to school. Now. Damn Ichigo for not waking him up. He hurriedly tugged his uniform pants on. He dove for the closet and hastily grabbed a shirt and threw it on before clambering to find his right shoe. He bit the strap of his bag in his teeth as he tied his hair out of his face. On days like this he wished he would cut it short but he just could never bring himself to cut all the red away. He nearly tripped down the stair as he buttoned his shirt. His feet catching the last stair made him stop long enough to see the brown bag lunch Yuzu left for him on the counter. He snagged it and tucked it into his bag as he ran out the door. Halfway on his way to school he felt his hair band snap, sending his red hair flying down around his face. He felt it stick to the damp skin on his neck. Summer in Karakura Town was hotter than he remembered from his few trips here in the past. He ignored the itchy uncomfort, focusing instead on the school's gate. But he stopped short when he saw who was waiting for him there.

"Tatsuki?"

"Renji, I was beginning to think that I was too hard on you yesterday," she turned to him and her teasing voice stopped. He watched her as look of confusion crossed her face before she viciously bit her bottom lip.

"What is it? I'm late."

He saw a piece of his red hair fall into his line of vision but ignored it as he watched her as she tried to muffle a giggle.

"Renji, did you know that your hair is braided?"

Last night came back to him as soon as he focused on the braided strand of hair in front of his eyes.

"SHIT!"

He ran his hands through his hair trying to untangle them. But he wasn't having any luck. He was just thinking how embarrassing it would be to walk into school with a Bo Derrick look when Tatsuki slipped smooth wood into his hands. He looked down to see a hairbrush nestled in his palm. He hurriedly drug it through his hair, the braids coming out much easier with the slender teeth than his thick hands. He handed the brush back to her.

"Thanks."

He watched as she seemed to notice a few strands sticking to the sweat on the sides of his neck. She reached into her back and pulled out a stack of note cards. She snagged the rubber band off and handed it to Renji before tossing them back into her bag. Renji was baffled by her generosity but he wasn't one to complain. He pulled his hair back into the normal style as Tatsuki dug around in her bag and pulled out a navy blue bandana.

"Here."

He took it and wrapped it around his forehead, hiding his tattoos from sight.

"Thanks Tatsuki. You just saved me from a world of embarrassment."

She shrugged walking past the gates and onto school grounds. "Now you have to pay me back."

He followed her, an eyebrow rising on his face. "What did you have in mind?"

"Dinner at my house tonight. My brothers want to meet my sparring partner."

He stopped dead in his tracks. Brothers. That little harmless word sent a shiver down his spine. It brought up memories of his captain. He ruined the image and the word brother for him. Byakuya was cold, almost heartless toward Rukia, at least before she was almost executed. He thought all siblings were like that until he moved in with Ichigo. The teen was kind to his sisters and openly showed his love for them. Still, Renji couldn't help but feel a cold block of ice drop into the pit of his stomach when he heard the word brother. He automatically pictured his Captain. And now he pictured Tasuki surrounded by a room full of them.

"Brothers?"

She looked back and smiled over her shoulder at his face which he was sure was as pale as the shirt he was wearing.

"Yes, brothers. I have three. Just wait for me at the gates after school. Now come on before we're both late."

With that she disappeared into the school leaving Renji to follow with his early morning make over and dark thoughts.


	3. Meeting

*Bleach and all its character's belong to Tite Kubo.

* * *

Luckily she made it into the bathroom before she let her laughter slip. Tatsuki could not believe what she had seen this morning. Renji, with braids. It took everything she had not to laugh at him. But she couldn't just let him walk into school like that. That would be too much humiliation to take. Ichigo was really mean to not wake him up. Once his hair was brushed free of the twisted locks she was taken back by how much gentler he looked and how much more handsome. His cheeks stood out more making you focus on brown eyes that were like earthen tokens that you couldn't look away from. The way his hair fell into his eyes made her want to reach up and brush it out of the way if only to be able to see more of his beautiful eyes and the strong thick markings of his tattoos. She would have been tempted if it weren't for those braids. She giggled some more forcing the thought of finding Renji attractive away. She preferred the hot head with his hair up but once he had pulled it into a spiky tail she noticed just how eye catching his tattoos were.

She wasn't deaf to all the gossip about Ichigo's cousin from America and she sure wasn't blind to all her friends' ogling him wherever he went. She had seen other people with tattoos before but his were different. It was like they always belonged to him. Like the marks were born into his skin. That was the reason she had trouble looking away. And she knew that he got yelled at if he showed off his artwork too much. The school had strict rules which required him to wear a headband every day. She really though it was more of a precaution for the girl's drooling around him, so they would stop staring and actually pay attention in class.

She rested her hip against the sink as she thought. When she said the word brothers he went stiff. She smiled at the pale almost frightened face he gave her. He must have had a bad experience with meeting an old girlfriend's family or something. She giggled to herself despite trying to hold it in. That face he made and those delicate braids in his fire engine red hair would probably make her burst out in laughing fits all during the day.

* * *

Renji glared at Ichigo as he sat next to Chad at lunch. He hadn't stop glaring at him since he stepped foot into class.

"Jesus Renji, I told you I was sorry. I thought you had run off early to talk to Rukia again. I really didn't know you were still asleep."

He grumbled under his breath about bad housemates as he dug out his sandwich. Yuzu really was a sweet kid. She made breakfast for her family, packed their lunches, and cooked dinner for them. It made him wonder how his life would have been like if he hadn't grown up as an orphan. Ichigo's voice pulled him from his musings.

"Man, Yuzu gave me carrot sticks."

Renji smiled as his hand wrapped around a juicy green apple. His smiled stayed in placed as he bit into the apple as Ichigo gave him an annoyed glare. But his smiled didn't stay in place for long. The sound of laughter drifting across the lawn brought his eye to a gaggle of girls sitting under a large tree. He could easily see Rukia and Orihime laughing along with the other girls. The second he saw Tatsuki he bit roughly into his apple. Ishida was quick to catch on to the action.

"Is something amiss with Arisawa-chan Abarai-kun?"

He grumbled into his apple, "I have to meet her bothers."

Ichigo coughed on his carrots sticks. Chad's strong pat on the back sent some of the orange bits flying.

"Holy shit!"

Renji cringed, "Are they that bad?"

All he got from the substitute shinigami was a cocky grin. He swallowed the lump of his apple. Today victory didn't taste so sweet.

* * *

"What are their names again?"

Tatsuki sighed. His nerves were definitely getting worse the closer they got to her house. He must have had a horrible experience with meeting the family of a significant other to be this jittery.

"Kanaye and Jiro are the oldest. They're both 26."

"Because they're twins."

"But not identical. You can tell them apart. Kanaye has blue eyes and Jiro has brown like mine."

"And Hiroshi is 21. He has glasses."

She nodded at Renji who tugged at his shirt hem. Her eyes quickly caught the familiar action. He must have picked up Ichigo's nervous tick. She pulled Renji in front of the door before she opened it. His eyes darted nervously to the door then back to her. She used a flat palm to smack him in the back of the head. That got him out of his nervousness.

"Oi, what was that for!"

"Usually you're calm as a cucumber. What's gotten into you?"

Renji gestured toward the door with wide eyes. "I'm meeting your brothers!"

Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "It's not like we're dating."

"But-"

"Get a hold of yourself Abarai. You big scaredy cat."

That got his attention. He glared at her. While he still had his head about him she opened the door and pulled him into her house.

"Guys, we're here."

She pushed him in front of her as her brothers as they entered the room. He shocked her as he bowed respectfully to the brothers in order of birth.

"Kanaye-san, Jiro-san, Hiroshi-san, I'm Abarai Renji, Tatsuki-chan's partner. It's nice to meet you."

She watched as her brothers gave each other sly grins. She glared at them for what they were about to do. The second Renji stood up they tore into him with questions.

"Why did you become Tatsuki's partner?" "What are your intentions with her?" "Do you enjoying hitting girls?" "Where are you from?" "Why are you staying at Ichigo's?"

She really did feel bad for Renji but she couldn't help her smile. The pineapple head looked like a deer stuck in headlights until she saw something in those mahogany eyes of his. Suddenly he was calm. He stood up straighter and put his hands in his pockets like he was talking to people he knew for years.

"I became her partner because she asked me to. I intend to win every match. I hope she does the same. I don't like hitting girls. I'm strictly against it but your sister did all of the hitting. I couldn't even touch her. I'm Ichigo's cousin from America. I'm doing a foreign exchange program this summer. Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

Her brothers thought this over. Tatsuki's heart pounded in her chest. When did Renji's nerves switch to her? She watched as Kanaye took a step forward. He was almost the same height as Renji. She exhaled a sigh of relief when he held out his hand to the red head.

"Glad to meet my baby sister's partner."

Renji shook his hand with a tight grip. Jiro clapped him on the shoulder, "Sorry about the interrogation. We get protective."

Hiroshi threw an arm around his shoulders and led him into the dining room, "you're the only person besides Ichigo that didn't go running from the room."

Renji looked back over his shoulder to look at her. She fumed at the back of her brother's head, "You tired to pull his earring out!"

"It was ugly anyway… "

* * *

"Renji, your turn."

During dinner they had explained to Renji exactly what they were talking about bringing guys home. Apparently every guy was afraid to meet her brothers. And that so far Ichigo was the only who had stuck around long enough to realize they were joking. Renji couldn't help but to laugh at the dark glare Tatsuki was giving her brothers. The oldest brother even had a tattoo, nothing as massive as his markings, but it was a nice sentiment. It was the cross and shield, a doctor's symbol in honor of their parents. Renji learned a lot during that dinner. Tatsuki lost her parents when she was 6. Isshin had legally become their guardian until the twins turned 18. By then their part time job turned into a full blown career. Renji was amazed at their story. Even in the midst of grief they struggled to survive and came out on top. He could see where Tatsuki got her drive from.

Now after dinner they went into the den to play air hockey. And now Jiro wanted him to play. It was bad manners to refuse anything offered to you by your host. Renji might be a hothead but he was a hot head with manners. So he joined him at the table and looked confusedly at the machine. They did not have these things is Soul society.

"I've never played before."

"They don't have air hockey in America?"

"They do but I just never played."

He felt his mallet thingy being pulled from his hands. Tatsuki tossed a puck onto the table. Renji watched it danced around over the air vents before she swiftly knocked the puck into the slot across from them. She handed him back his round mallet.

"Just like that. And do me a favor; beat the snot out of him. He always wins."

He grinned at her, "sure thing."

The rest of the night passed by rather quickly with him becoming very fond of air hockey and winning. Eventually it got late and Renji took his leave. As he was walking home he thought about how nervous he was about meeting them. He guessed that being around Byakuya too long did some psychological damage. Tatsuki's brothers weren't cold as ice and they didn't threatening to kill him like Byakuya had. They were nice. He actually enjoyed hanging out with them.

"Renji-kun your home!"

He hadn't even noticed that he had walked into the Kurosaki house. He smiled at Yuzu who ran up to great him.

"I put the leftovers in the fridge so you can take them to school for lunch tomorrow."

He ruffled her blonde hair. "Thanks kiddo."

He left the girls downstairs and headed up to his room. Ichigo's voice caught him by his bedroom door.

"It's nice to see you in one piece Renji. I guess the dinner went well."

The red head sneered at the younger boy. "Oh, it went better than well. Her brothers like me more than you."

He walked off to his room when he heard Ichigo fall out of his desk chair, nothing like going to sleep with the sound of triumph in your ears.


	4. Win Some, Lose Some

*Bleach and all its character's belong to Tite Kubo.

* * *

Tatsuki nearly trampled her teammates to get to Renji. She heard the resounding "oof" in his chest as she knocked the breath from his lungs. They won the first tournament. She hugged him hard. She knew that asking him to be her partner a month ago would work out. Three days before their tournament at their last practice he had finally managed to catch her and pin her to the ground. She found herself being crushed against the foul smelling mat.

"I'm really sorry about all those times I made you eat pavement."

Renji let go of his strong hold and helped her to her feet, a grin in place, "Smells don't it?"

And now here she was, a first place metal tucked safely in her back pocket as she walked around downtown Karakura. She was beyond pumped. Both she and Renji won each of their bouts easily, moving on to the finals. She was extremely proud of Renji. He didn't throw an illegal move once.

"Where are we going anyway Tatsuki?"

She grabbed his wrist and drug him along the street. "We deserve to celebrate."

She turned a corner and lead him into a brightly colored restaurant. She pulled him after her as she found an empty table.

"La Casa de Sol?"

She plucked a menu between the habanero sauce and the napkin bin. "It means "The House of the Sun." Chad's family owns it. It's Mexican food."

"I've never had Mexican food before."

Tatsuki stopped looking at her menu to stare at Renji, "You lived in L.A. and never had Mexican food?"

"Yeah and?"

She dropped the subject when she heard him get defensive. Tonight was a night for fun not for a pineapple head's moping.

"Fine then I'll order for you."

"Alright."

She was just about to ask him if he liked guacamole when a sultry voice pulled her from exploring the menu. The blonde waitress was basically undressing Renji with her eyes. Tatsuki fought back the laugh in her throat at Renji's placid bored look.

"Hello my name is Haru. I'll be your waitress this evening. What would you like to drink?"

Tatsuki watched amusedly as he completely ignored the waitress and pointed to her, bored face unchanged. "She's ordering for me."

The blonde turned to her now, scowl in place, "so what is it that you think your brother wants?"

Tatsuki snapped her menu closed, "He isn't my brother. And I think we'll want two glasses of water. And I'll place our orders now. I want the taco platter, the Sante Fe Burrito Feast, and a small bowl of vanilla ice cream."

"Your order will be right out."

Tatsuki rolled her eyes behind the waitress's back who was putting too much swing in her hips. Renji shook his head dismissively not even glancing in the retreating waitress's direction which any man would have drooled over.

"Why do they always look at me like that?"

"Look at you like what?"

"Like I'm a piece of meat."

Tasuki was wary of his question but she felt like she owed him something. He had just secured her place in another competition.

"Honestly, it's the tattoos."

She watched as Renji scowled, pointing out a man at the bar in back of the restaurant, "He has tattoos."

Tatsuki shook her head, "But yours… they just belong to you, like they were always a part of you."

The intensity in his eyes unnerved her so much that she started to play with the napkin in her lap. Tatsuki was never unnerved and she never fidgeted. She rushed on.

"That and the fact that you can't really tell how far down they go. Like that waitress. She was totally undressing you with her eyes."

She watched him as he looked down at the v neck of his t-shirt then back to her. He pulled the zipper up higher on his purple hoodie giving her a curious stare before resting his head on his propped up hand.

"I try to ignore it but it gets annoying."

Tatsuki couldn't help but laugh. "I thought guys liked to have the girls all over them."

"Not me."

She smiled at him, "Well then stop being a badass and maybe they'll go away."

Renji smirked at her. "If I was a badass then you wouldn't have had me flat on my back for an hour last week."

As soon as the words left his mouth the waitress set their glasses down. Tasuki tried not to smile at her obvious discomfort. She placed both dishes within their reach a left without another word.

"I think that she may have gotten the wrong impression."

"You think?"

The blush on Renji's cheeks pushed her over the edge. Her laughter pulled some on the restaurant goer's eyes towards her. Renji waited patiently until the laughter stopped. But she was sure that it was because he didn't know what to eat. She poured some hot habanero salsa on two of the six tacos. She picked one up and bit into it while he watched her. Before she could warm him about the spicy heat he had already taken a huge bite out of the crunchy shell. She could almost hear his brain sizzle as the sensation tingled his senses. He immediately grabbed his glass and downed all of it.

"My tongue's on fire."

She immediately shoved a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. He sagged against the table as it cooled his tongue. She smiled at him as she pulled the spoon away.

"That's what the ice cream was for?"

She nodded her head after putting the ice cream closer to him. "The lactose reacts with your taste buds. It neutralizes the heat. If Chad didn't order it for me my first time I probably still wouldn't be able to taste food."

She hefted the other half of his taco out of his plate. He looked at her with shocked eyes. Traditionally in Japan sharing the same chopsticks or even food was something extremely intimate. It was basically the food version of a kiss. The first time she borrowed Ichigo's chopsticks he had almost had a heart attack. And Renji wasn't looking too well either.

"You don't have cooties, besides I'm used to the spice."

She watched him as he eyed the rest of the shelled goodness on his plate. She picked up his already bitten into taco and added another mouth sized hole. She chewed happily as he watched her, a mixture of fascination and confusion on his face.

"Go on. It won't bite… much."

She smiled as he picked up the salsa free taco and bit into it. This time he didn't have tears welling up in his eyes. Instead she got a smile out of him. And she was thrown back to the day that he met her brothers. That morning that she helped him out. It was those same eyes. They were full of life. It wasn't like his eyes were lifeless before this but now it just seemed like he wasn't holding back, like he wasn't hiding something in those deep brown eyes.

"It's good."

She was pulled from her unknown staring, luckily without being caught. "I knew you'd like it."

She moved onto her burritos. They were massive in size coming three on the plate but they had both worked up quite an appetite. They took on three opponents each after all.

"What's that?"

She gestured to the burrito now in her plate. "This is what we call heaven in a tortilla, a burrito."

She was surprised to see him demolish all of his tacos. He picked up a burrito and bit into it.

"Dis if mah favite."

She tried to swallow before laughing at his amazed face.

"Told you."

"Couldn't you have told me sooner?"

She laughed some more before getting down to business and finishing off her burrito. She finished up her last taco while Renji revisited heaven and devoured the last mean, bean, rice, and cheese filled tortilla. She pretended not to notice. She reached for some more hot sauce while he eyed a withered looking pepper on the side of his plate.

"What is it?"

She sipped from her glass, "Something too hot for you."

"Really?" He leaned forward over the table, a grin creeping into place, "Can you handle it?"

She didn't like where this was going but she wouldn't back down. Not from him. "Yes, I can."

He dangled the vegetable in front of her, "Prove it."

She plucked it from his grasp and chewed it whole. The heat was astounding. She could see the redhead get blurry from the tears forming in her eyes but she swallowed the fire down. She wouldn't lose to Renji. Even it felt like her head would explode. She opened her mouth for him to see that she had in fact swallowed it. Renji gave her a sly smirk.

"Ice cream?"

"Yes!"

He spooned a big glob of it onto her mouth. She could feel it working but it did nothing for the fire in her throat.

"More."

He gave her an even bigger scoop. And the waitress walked up at the exact moment that he was leaning across the table, spoon feeding it to her to give them their bill. If Tatsuki wasn't in pain she would have laughed at the waitress's envious face. But right now she was working on restoring her normal body temperature. She let Renji pull the spoon from her mouth. He put it back into the half melted bowl, crossing his arms as he leaned back into his chair that damnable grin still in place.

"I still did it."

He smiled nodding his head eagerly, "Yes, you did."

She crossed her arms, "Don't placate me."

She rolled her eyes as he just kept smiling. She stood up and dug out some cash but Renji had already laid some on the table.

"I wanted to celebrate, I should pay."

He shrugged as he put his wallet away, "Call me old fashioned."

She still pulled out a twenty and left it on the table. As they walked out of the restaurant Renji asked, "What was that for?"

She grinned at Renji ignoring her numb mouth. "For Haru. I think she needed a consolation prize. She seemed really put out."

"Hn."

She wrapped her arms around herself as she looked up toward the sky. Rain was coming and it left a chill in the air. She hadn't thought ahead to grab a jacket. She was too amped up for the match when she left her house to even remember her brother telling her about the chance for rain.

"You cold?"

She didn't look at Renji for fear of his smug grin, "No."

"You're really stubborn you know?"

She was about to come back with a "look who's talking" remark when she felt him put his jacket over her shoulders. This whole chivalrous side of him was unexpected but not unwelcome. But that didn't mean she'd let him just get away with it. She turned her head in his direction to goad him about white knights when she caught sight of the end of his tattoos just peeking out of the sleeves of his t-shirt. She turned her head forward.

"Why did you get those tattoos?"

They walked in silence down the street. When they were nearly two blocks from home she didn't think he'd answer.

"I got one every time I met a goal I set for myself. Another accomplishment meant another tattoo."

She peeked at him from the corner of her eye. He had those hiding eyes again. She wished that he didn't have those eyes.

"Maybe you should get another one. I think we accomplished a lot today. First competition won. First Burrito devoured."

He laughed, his eyes sparkling in the streetlight as they stood outside her door.

"I dunno about you though. You kicked ass at the competition but I think that pepper won."

"Yeah, I think my tongue is still on fire."

He tilted her chin up to see the pink tongue she stuck out. He smiled down at her, "Nope I think the ice cream did the trick."

She thought that he'd drop her chin but he didn't. Those damn eyes came back. But this time they were dull and far away. Those eyes made her more sad than they should have.

"I should go inside and tell my brothers."

It was like he had just realized he was still holding her chin, gazing down at her. He let her go and took a step back. "Goodnight Tatsuki."

She had her hand on the door handle when the purple sleeve fell in front of her fingertips.

"Oh, Renji your jacket!"

He waved over his shoulder, "just hang onto it. It'll get it from you later."

She watched for a while as he walked down the street. Now she wanted to know what exactly made his eyes look so haunted. And once Tatsuki set her heart on something she worked for it until she got it.

* * *

Isshin knew that he was late but cardiac arrests and surgeries where never fun. It was nearly two in the morning when he set foot into his home. He crept to the kitchen for some of his daughters wonderful cooking only to nearly have a heart attacked himself.

"Renji what're you doing up so late?"

When he opened the refrigerator light spilled over red hair altering him to the boy's grim face. He was slumped down on the barstool at the island, his chin resting on the table as the rest of his body was slouched forward.

"My heart hurts."

Isshin crept closer to the boy, "Did you and Tatsuki-chan have a fight?"

"Yeah we won the first competition today and then we went out for Mexican food."

His head lulled to the table. Now his uncovered forehead rested against the cool marble. The boy was not acting like himself.

"What happened?"

Renji's head popped up. He looked bad almost like he was… heartbroken. Isshin was overjoyed for a second before Renji spoke again.

"I think the burritos gave me heart burn!"

Isshin bit his lip to stop from laughing. The shinigami was in pain all right but not how he originally thought.

"There should be some antacids in the medicine cabinet in the clinic."

Renji picked his head up. "I should have figured that out. Thanks Isshin."

He smiled at the red head's back. He waited until he couldn't hear his footsteps on the stairs to laugh. He turned to his wife's ceiling to floor portrait even though he remembered her beauty well.

"I thought that he realized what I saw. It's why I asked him here for in the first place. I felt bad for Ichigo taking Rukia away from him. I set it up for those two to meet. I think I'm losing my touch my beloved. It's been a month and I have nothing to show for it."

He kissed his hand and placed it on the glossy frame before finding the leftovers to eat in the kitchen. He ate in the silence under his true love's eyes.

* * *

Renji was grateful to be out of class if only for half an hour. Math was killing him. Who was the genius that came up with something called imaginary real number?! He dug around in his lunch bag to find his apple. If he could have had a little sister he wished that she would have been half as nice as Yuzu. With his sandwich devoured he sat in the warm sun and listened to Ichigo argue with Ishida about who was right in their government debate. He ignored them as he bit into his apple. Those two bickered like an old married couple. He lifted his face up to the sky as he leaned back against the roof's railing. Tonight was he and Tatsuki's second Martial arts competition in Nagoya.

"Renji stop moving your head. You're messing up my shade."

He banged his head against the fence as he looked down to find Tatsuki sitting in between his legs.

"What the hell?"

Tatsuki didn't even bother looking at him. He was grateful for that because he was sure the shock on his face of having her basically sitting in his lap would have led her to teasing him about it.

"The grounds are still too wet to eat lunch on and Rukia and Orihime have a club meeting right now. I got tired of listening to Chizuru and the rest of the girl's talk about y-"

He thought that he saw her cheeks redden as she looked back at him. He blinked thinking that he had been looking into the sun too long.

"- you know girl stuff."

"No not really."

She shrugged turning around. He watched as her shoulders rose and fell. He was still amazed that this girl was able to beat him every time they sparred. The only reason he ever pinned her was because she was tired. And he knew it. It was astounding how strong she was. As a soul reaper he could match her fifty times over but in his spiritual container he was the one who was left drenched in sweat and breathing raggedly. He watched as the smooth muscles of her arms stretched, sinew moving elegantly with her body as she opened her lunch.

"Renji are you listening?"

She wasn't looking back at him. Thank Zabimaru for small mercies.

"What?"

"Where's Chad?"

He shrugged his shoulders and then he realized that she couldn't see him.

"Yo, Ichigo! Where's Chad?"

The orange haired teen broke a heated glare with Ishida to spare him a glance only to turn his head back sharply. He watched as Ichigo's eyes landed on Tatsuki and her tree. Renji hated the smirk he got from him and wished he hadn't bothered to ask about the giant's whereabouts.

"He's in the culinary club."

"I thought he was in the poetry club?"

Ichigo shrugged and turned back to Ishida who was waiting patiently to continue his argument, "Nobody said you only had to join one."

Renji crunched into his apple as he leaned forward to look over Tatsuki's shoulder. He pointed to a round object in her bento box.

"What's that?"

Tatsuki poked at it with her chopsticks. "It's called a peanut butter delight. Orihime gave it me before they left for their meeting."

Renji peered at it closely for fear of it coming alive. He had bad experiences with Orihime's food in the past. Horribly bad experiences that involved the cold tile floor of the bathroom he shared with Ichigo and a having her odd meals revisit him all night. He watched as she picked up the tan and white goo sandwiched between crackers and placed it in her mouth. He knew that he was staring directly at her but he couldn't look away from her as small perfectly symmetrical lips pulled into a smile as she chewed.

"That wasn't half bad."

Renji pulled away and looked at her closely, inspecting her for some sort of mind influencing food poisoning.

"How can you eat Orihime's food and not throw up?"

She patted her stomach and grinned at him, "Stomach of steel. And besides I've had my whole life to get used to it. You've only known her for a few months."

As she said that he found the smile he had on his face slipping away. He quickly recovered by biting into his apple. He leaned back into the railing. He hated lying to Tatsuki. In her circle of friends she was the only one left out. And she had been completely honest with him. Hiding things from her was getting harder the closer they got. Fighting with someone did that. Or at least it did that with Ichigo. They were friends but he would never admit it to anyone. He slumped against his resting spot only to be yelled at by Tatsuki.

"Hey sit up straight. You don't want your partner to get heat stroke the day of her second competition do you?"

He hunched over slightly to hook his wrists over his bent knees bringing his face to the back of her head.

"Why should I be your shade? You can't beat me up today. I have to fight too you know."

In one swift motion his hair band was snagged from his ponytail and flicked over the railing to the cement below. She hadn't even looked back. He ignored the sniggering Ishida and the howling laughter from Ichigo as he leaned into the railing and glared at the back of the pixie's head. He took another bite into his apple, making sure to keep his massive frame in the way of the sun's warm rays to block his partner from the heat ignoring the curtain of red hair cascading down his shoulders.

* * *

Tatsuki was supposed to be preparing for her next bout but the collective sigh of the audience drew her attention to the other side of the gymnasium. She followed the wave of onlookers toward the fighting ring marked by the dark blue mat. She shouldered past a group of female students from Nagoya High School. There was an obscenely large amount of girls here today. More than any match she had ever been too. When she finally elbowed her way to the outskirts of the ring she knew why. Somehow during his match the thin brown haired boy fighting Renji had tore open his white Gi. Tatsuki stared blankly at his exposed chest, his perfectly sculpted exposed chest. She could see that the tattoos went even further down her chest than she thought but before she could tell exactly how far they went the referee threw a red flag. Renji had used an illegal move flipping his opponent over violently. He helped him back up and bowed as required to end the match that was now in favor of the hosting school because of Renji's mistake. Tatsuki knew that all the girls starting at him had made him uncomfortable. He just wanted to get the fight over with so he could close his uniform even though he didn't need to. Tatsuki blinked trying to understand where that thought had come from. She didn't have much time to debate what was hidden in her own mind because Renji was making a beeline straight for her. The whispering of the girls around her rose considerably before it stopped altogether when he stood before her.

"Sorry Tatsuki."

He had his eyes focusing directly on her. She turned away before she looked at his bare chest. Now was one of those times that she wished she was taller. Then his magnificent chest wouldn't be in her line of sight. She shook her weary thoughts away.

"Come on."

She felt all the girl's eyes on Renji as she lead him to the boys locker room.

"If you don't want a girl to see you naked you had better get the hell out! NOW!"

She watched as half dressed fighters rushed out with surprised faces and whispers of her name. Being well known had it perks. People didn't challenge her much. She pointed to a bench.

"Sit down."

She rummaged around one of the lockers and found a roll of breathable cotton bandages used to protect the hands when bare knuckle boxing.

"I'm sorry Tatsuki. The second I realized what I was doing I couldn't stop it."

She sighed as she crossed the room and stood in front of him. He really did look sorry. She sighed.

"Take off your uwagi."

He stared up at her blankly, "take off your jacket. I'm not mad."

He slowly peeled off the white uwagi and put it on the bench next to him. Tatsuki kept her eyes on his.

"I would have wanted to get out of their too. I've never seen this many girls at any Martial arts tournament. I figured if it wasn't a wardrobe malfunction then your hair came undone. Stand up."

He did as he was told and Tatsuki finally saw the full design of his tattoos. They spanned down his chest, across his abdomen, and they tapered into the waistband of his pants. She pulled her eyes to her hands as she started to wrap his well toned abdomen with the bandage. Now was definitely not a good time to get caught staring.

"My hair?"

Her arms wrapped around his back to smooth the bandages around his body.

"Today at lunch I said that I got bored of the girl talk."

She moved further up on his torso with her wrapping. The warmth of his body was heating up the scent of his skin. It was musky and salty and Tatsuki found that she didn't dislike it. She immediately breathed through her mouth, cleaning the scent from her head.

"What's that got to do with my hair?"

She almost cringed. He couldn't just let it go like Ichigo could he?

"They were talking about you and how good you look with it down."

He was quiet as she made yet another loop around his body, pulling it tight enough so it wouldn't slip but still allow movement.

"What do you mean how good I look with it down?"

She instantly regretted saying that now. She wanted to hide in one of the lockers but Renji was always honest with her. She should at least be honest with him even though it made her a nervous wreck. She sucked in a breath of damp air.

"Their exact words were: You look like a sexy piece of ass when you wear it down."

She tried not to fidget as she secured the bandages around his chest as silence filled the smelly room.

"Well… what do you think?"

What did she think? She wanted to run her fingers through it. And as for the sexy piece of ass… he could be a model if he ever wanted to. She had no doubt that he had an amazing body because she was wrapping half of it in bindings and it was always pressed up against her when she sparred with him. But she wouldn't admit that to him. Ever.

"I think they were talking about my partner. And I think that you need to be quiet so I can finish this."

Thankfully Renji kept quiet enough for her to finish his wrappings, that is, until he she glanced up to see him smiling down at her.

"What?"

"_You_ took my hair down today."

She pulled the white cloth tight around his chest causing him to jerk forward.

"That's because I know it annoys you to have your hair down. But at least it wasn't in braids today."

She smiled up at his scowl as she tucked the end of the bindings in place just as they heard the loud speakers crackle to life to call her name to the ring. She took one last look at Renji. His tattoos where still visible on the very top of his chest, on his collarbones and his neck but the jacket would cover that.

She nodded, "Congratulations you're now oogle proof."

He snorted as he slid back into the white jacket of his uniform. "You never answered my question, what do you think?"

She stopped in front of the door and turned back to him, "I think you had better not lose your next match."

With that she left him in the locker room to win her own match praying that he would just forget that she was evading his question. She ran from it at lunch today when her friends asked because she didn't want to admit it to herself. She liked his hair down almost as she liked being the only girl here today to see his tattoos up close.

* * *

Renji stretched his legs out on the bus. The last match went on longer than expected which meant that they were late to leave Nagoya. He was exhausted and so was Tatsuki. She was fighting off sleep as they boarded the last bus back to Karakura.

"Renji what time is it?"

He still didn't answer her. Whatever she said or asked he chose not to answer her. If she didn't answer his question then why should he answer hers? He watched as she grumbled in her seat crossing her arms while vigorously blinking sleep away.

"You know what," she yawned, "You win."

"You'll answer my question?"

"If you tell me the time first."

Renji smiled at her sleep heavy eyes, "its 10:30."

She nodded slowly falling to the side in her seat.

"mhmm."

He felt himself smile at Tatsuki and her display of complete loss of control. It was funny to see her this way.

"Now answer my question."

He felt her head gently collide with his arm, "I like your hair down. It makes…. your eyes prettier… but when it's up…. I can see…. your tattoos…better."

That threw him for a loop. She thought his eyes were pretty? He didn't know what to make of her sleep induced slip up. Because he sure as hell knew that she didn't want him to know that she thought his eyes were pretty. Somehow the warmth radiating from her cheek pressed against his arm was enough to keep him awake the whole trip home. Nearly an hour later he still hadn't thought of anything to say so he chose to ignore it completely. He nudged her awake which only caused her to bury her face further into his sleeve. The bus was nearly empty and he wasn't just going to leave her there. He gently lifted her into his arms and carried her off the city bus. He knew that this wouldn't fly well with her but there wasn't anyone around to see them. The school grounds were deserted. As he carried her home he was reminded of the time he had carried Rukia to safety. He looked down as the soundly sleeping girl in his arms. This wasn't Rukia. This was Tatsuki, the girl that could beat him to oblivion, and match him word for word, threat for threat, the girl who was staring up at him with wild eyes. He put her down the second her fist met his head. He stumbled to the side for a few seconds as stars clouded his vision.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

She stormed up to him, "You scared the crap out of me! You looked like some rapist with those tattoos staring at me like that in the dark."

He still had one hand on the side of his throbbing head. "I thought you said you liked my tattoos and my eyes!"

The moonlight allowed him to see the blush rise on her cheeks. She immediately turned on her heel and stalked off in the direction of her house.

"Shit."

Why the hell did he throw that back in her face? She hadn't even realized what she said. And hadn't he decided to let it go? He really was as much of an idiot as Ichigo thought. He hurried after her.

"Tatsuki. Tatsuki! I'm sorry."

She kept walking, "yeah, whatever."

"At least let me walk you home."

"You, of all people, know that I can take care of myself."

He still followed her. There were other things in Karakura town that she couldn't take care of alone.

"Tatsuki."

"Renji if you don't go home right now I'm going to be one partner short."

He stopped walking. He knew that she wasn't bluffing, not with that angry clipped tone. Tatsuki never fought anyone outside of the competition ring without a damn good cause. He remembered the stories Ichigo told him about meeting Tatsuki. She was defending Orihime against some bullies trying to cut her hair because they were convinced it was fake and she dyed it for attention. Ichigo himself had been bullied like this before because of his unruly strawberry blonde verging on orange hair. That is how they all became friends. Renji shoved his hands in his pockets and turned in the opposite direction. But after nearly going a block out of his way he turned back around and picked up his pace. She might not want him as a partner right now but he didn't want to lose his.


	5. Apologies and Apples

*Bleach and all its character's belong to Tite Kubo.

* * *

Tatsuki was mortified. How could she have let that slip? To him of all people? She was grateful that it was Saturday. No school and no Renji to confront her about her words. Last night was horrible. She just wanted to forget about it. So when her brothers asked her to help out at the clothing store she readily agreed. It would give her some time to not think about it. But she couldn't stop thinking about it. It played over and over in her head. What had sent nerves to twine and twist in her stomach was that fact that she had told him the truth. The bare, unabashed truth and he threw it back in her face like it was nothing. That had made her angry but during the night as she tossed and turned it made her impossibly sad. And it was pissing Tatsuki off. She had been working in the shop for nearly eight hours. Helping snobby girls find the perfect pair of jeans and ignoring the ogling boys.

Of course what she was wearing wasn't helping. The dark plum halter top that stopped in the middle of her stomach showing a thick inch and a half of skin before leading the eye to the chic black pants and elegant thick woven black leather heels didn't exactly help her blend in. The outfit she didn't mind but the shoes weren't exactly her first choice. Orihime had made her buy them, telling her how she was missing out on being a woman if she never wore heels. Now they came in handy. The only reason she dressed like this was because it showed off the shops clothes and because she caught more flies with her body than with her fists. If she didn't punch anyone out by the end of her shift she considered it her good deed for the week. Right now the lanky boy watching her from the shoe rack was itching for a quick right hook. She quickly took a look at the clock in the back of the store and let out a happy sigh. Her shift was over and she could get away from unwelcome eyes. Tatsuki much preferred being in her white karate uniform. When she was wearing it people were looking at her moves, not her body. Now she knew how Renji felt being stared at all the time.

Just as she turned around to head to the door marked _employees only_ to get her bag a guy looking for sunglasses stopped her. She put on a cheery smile and led him to the display where she thought she was home free. He picked up a red ray ban and twirled it around, a grin on his face. Tatsuki fought to control her clinching first. She knew what was coming.

"I'm not really looking for sunglasses."

She forced herself to keep the smile on her face. She repeated her oldest brothers' words in her head. _You can't beat up the customer no matter how much they ask for it._ She breathed through her nose.

"Well maybe I can help you find whatever it is you're looking for."

His yellow hair was so slicked back it made her want to wash her own. And his smile made his broad nose flatten out in a very unpleasant way. She thought of flattening it out even more with her fist.

"The thing is, I found what I was looking for. It was you."

She ground her teeth together and she felt her fist shake at her side. Of all days to get one of those super macho guys hitting on her! She felt her temper rising as his hand brushed against her arm.

"I'm sorry-"

He winked at her as he leaned against the display case.

"No fraternizing with the customers right? It's okay. We can keep it quiet."

If Tatsuki didn't feel a strong hand rest against the small of her back she might have actually busted the sleazy frat boy's nose. She didn't have to look up to know who was now draping an arm around her shoulders.

"You ready to go babe?"

She spoke through gritted teeth as she glared at the now pale pick up artist.

"I've just got to go punch out and get my bag."

Renji gripped her shoulder before letting her go and smiling at the sweating faux-customer.

"No, problem. I'll be right here, waiting."

She walked away and counted to ten in her head the same time she was beating down the lump in her throat.

* * *

All it took to make the guy hitting on Tatsuki leave was a well learned stare. The same look had made many opponents turn tail and run. At least he wasn't getting rusty. He turned his head up toward the industrial lighting of the store and took a deep breath. He needed to clear things up with Tatsuki. He needed to apologize. Which is something he never did, ever. Which is why after he followed her home last night to apologize he couldn't bring himself to knock on her door and just say sorry. Because he sure as hell felt sorry. After two hours of just standing there staring at her door like a fool he went off to find some advice. And Rukia gave it to him in the form a fist against his head.

"You are a complete and total moron!"

Renji rubbed his sore head. Rukia's fist hadn't packed as much punch as Tatsuki's did but it made her point clear enough. He sighed as he leaned against her Chappy Bunny covered bed and picked a lint ball off of the neon green shag rug he sat on inside of Orihime's apartment. She had been repeating herself for over an hour.

"I know."

"You are a bigger idiot than Ichigo!"

He pulled at his hair ignoring that she finally admitted that the substitute shinigami was in fact the idiot Renji always said he was.

"We've been over this. I'm an idiotic moron. Now how do I fix it?"

Rukia gave him a cold and calculating stare. Renji could see the reflection of his Captain in those cerulean eyes. She was spending way too much time with her older brother. He fought the urge not to cringe under her evaluation.

"If you want Tatsuki to ever talk to you again you're going to have to apologize."

He sat up and sputtered, "But, but I didn't-"

Rukia hit him upside his head again.

"You didn't mean to throw it back in her face but you did! And now you have to apologize. And then when you do apologize," she poked him in the chest to get her point across, "and you WILL apologize, she'll probably still kick your ass. Which she has every right to do!"

He groaned and buried his face in his hands. He never apologized. Because he was never wrong. But this time…

He was pulled from his memories by a voice.

"Come on, let's go."

He nodded and followed her out of the store. They had just gotten a little way down the street when he opened his mouth and closed it again. Why couldn't he just say it!

"Thanks."

She started to walk off again but he caught her arm and kept her from making her retreat. She wouldn't meet his eyes but he could see the anger in them, mixing with the dark color of hurt. It was now or never.

"I'm sorry."

A smile broke her face and its happy fake radiance crushed him. Her brown eyes were staring at anything but his eyes. The pain he felt seeing her like this hurt more than her fist against his head.

"You shouldn't be. You saved that guy from getting a bloody nose and saved my brothers from another lawsuit."

He returned her smile but it felt weak on his lips. He let it fall. He couldn't pretend, not with her. It killed him to pretend like he was a normal human with her enough already. He shook his head.

"I'm sorry about last night."

He felt her tense under his hand.

"You don't have to apolo-"

"Yes, I do. I don't handle compliments well. I never should have thrown that back in your face. I'm sorry. You can go ahead and hit me now."

He closed his eyes but felt no pain. He peaked under his lashes to see her looking away from him, her lip held between her perfect white teeth. He opened his eyes fully as she turned to look at the ground and then finally up to him.

"I, I don't say those things, the honest truth. I rarely say those things to Orihime and she's my best friend. Even Ichigo, I just can't, I can't…"

She trailed off and he waited for her to get her thoughts in order.

"It's hard for me to trust people Renji. I trusted you and…" she swept her hand between them before letting the sentence trail to a stop. He ran a hand over his face.

"And I threw it right back in your face… I am an idiot."

She looked at the ground and he fought the urge to growl at his own stupidity but he was having trouble beating down his own guilt. She trusted him. And he couldn't tell her what he wanted to tell her the most. It was for her safety. It was to protect her but lying to her just didn't feel right to him.

"I'm sorry Tatsuki."

* * *

She shrugged her shoulders. Tatsuki was trying to let the whole incident die. But the look in Renji's eyes was crushing her. Dark brown so full of remorse it made her throat ache. He was trying so hard to fix it, to fix them. And she didn't know if he could. But she had to try. He had gotten so close to her over the few months they've known each other. She could be herself around him. She had let her guard down and he had hurt her but somewhere deep down inside her she knew that he wouldn't do it again.

"I'll accept your apology but you have to promise me something."

He nodded vigorously, "anything."

"No more illegal moves. If you get us disqualified I won't forgive you."

He smiled, a genuine smile that made his eyes glow almost amber in the afternoon sun.

"You got it."

"And don't tell anybody about me wearing heels."

Renji shrugged as they stared walking down the street again.

"I don't know. You look good."

She punched him swiftly in the shoulder. He immediately stated to laugh as he rubbed the sore spot.

"Fine, fine. I won't tell."

They walked in silence for a while. The only sound was the soft thump of Tatsuki's heels on the pavement. Renji broke the comfortable silence first.

"We're good?"

Tatsuki smiled at him, "We're good."

"Okay, you want to help me shop for groceries before Karin calls and bitches me out?"

She laughed but pulled the list that was hidden away in one of his many pockets out of his hand. She pointed to the food market in the distance.

"Wouldn't want you to face that wrath, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. She punches like a mack truck."

Renji laughed, "So do you."

She smiled at him as she started to cross the street. Renji followed her and noticed what she was wearing fully for the first time. He knew that Tatsuki had a body but_ damn, _just _damn. _She trained every day of her life. But out of all the outfits that Renji had seen her in, even her school skirts, they never did her justice. Renji wasn't lying when he told her that she looked good in those heels. Or those tight black pants. Or the short cut top that accentuated her strong shoulders and arms perfectly. He found himself staring at the golden skin as the small of her back. It was smooth and taunt just like the same sun kissed skin that covered her bare shoulders. Renji found himself wanting to see more of it. The sharp wolf whistle that pierced the air pulled his attention away from Tasuki and the little punk that made the sound. He glared at the guy as he put himself between the street thug and Tatsuki as they walked. When the guy dropped his grin and started to walk away with his head down Renji smirked. As he turned to Tatsuki his smirk fled from her glare. She didn't need to be protected. But he couldn't help it. She was his partner and his friend and after he had hurt her he was sure as hell not going to let anyone else do it. He shrugged his shoulders as they walked through the convenience store doors.

"You are an idiot."

He sighed shaking his head as he followed her in, "tell me something I don't know."

* * *

Tatsuki was searching for the Coco Puffs as Renji combed through all the pop tart choices. She wandered over to where her favorite cereal was normally found and cursed under her breath. She could barely make out the top of the last box. It was tucked against the very back of the top shelf. Even with the added height the heels gave her she was still too short to reach them. She stretched out her arm which brought her nowhere close to even grazing the box. She got on her tiptoes and tried again before she felt someone behind her.

She felt Renji's hand rest on the small of her back as he easily reached over her to grab them without effort. She felt him chuckle as his body pressed into hers as he pulled the cardboard box down, dropping it into her basket. She shook off the feeling of warmth that his amusement sent resounding in her smaller frame and elbowed him in the ribs, putting space between them.

"Go be tall somewhere else."

Her taunt didn't hold much anger but her glare did. He rubbed his chest but grinned.

"I thought I'd save you the climb."

She threw some cheerios in with the rest of her groceries for Hiroshi and continued to ignore him.

He let out an exasperated sigh, "I bet the apples don't mind me being tall."

She fiddled around with a container of oatmeal before sighing and following after him. They had just patched things up and she wasn't going to let her height insecurities get in the way. She was short for her age and her genetics. Her brothers were all over six foot. And she could add that all of her guy friends towered over her as well. She made for an odd match to her partner at only 5'6". It was as close to average as she was going to get. But the 6'2" Renji didn't seem to mind. She wandered over to where he was picking bright green apples out of a bin. She leaned against the wooden crate and glanced down at the fruit and the enthusiastic Renji before smirking. He really did like apples.

"I bet you never go to the doctor."

She saw one eyebrow rise on his forehead as he put a juicy looking apple into his quickly filling plastic bag.

"You know "an apple a day keeps the doctor away?" I bet you never get sick."

He shrugged, "not if I can help it."

She grinned and tried not to laugh as Renji struggled with tying the overflowing bag.

"That's good to know especially if we're going up against the Fukuoka Academy in a few weeks."

Renji hefted both his basket up as he and Tatsuki made their way to the checkout lines.

"Isn't that the school where you took the National Karate Champion title?"

She nodded. They had discussed her karate career during practices.

"From the title holder four years running too."

Renji grinned at the cashier as he started to empty the contents of his basket on the counter.

"So you wanna cream him."

She grinned right back. It felt good to have her partner back.

"Yes, and those Judo techniques of yours are gonna get me that gold!"

He shook his head as he paid for his food. Just as Tatsuki put a jar of peanut butter on the counter a sensation stuck her. She felt a sharp shiver crawl up her spine. A Hollow. Her mind registered its presence; it wasn't too far from here. Somewhere near the industrial district, near the piers. She was pulled from pinpointing the monster's exact location by Renji's phone trilling loudly. He flipped open the phone and frowned grabbing his bags. He gave her an apologetic smile as he flipped it closed.

"Looks like I'll be getting that beat down from Karin after all. I gotta go. See you at practice tomorrow."

She nodded and fought the urge to run out the door to where she felt the hollow was but she couldn't. She'd run right across Renji's path and cutting around him would take up too much time. She had no qualms about up and leaving her groceries on the counter. The only reason she wasn't already out the door was because she didn't want to chance Renji seeing her and following her after one of those things. She could take one on by herself but Renji wouldn't even know what to do if he could even tolerate its spiritual pressure. Suddenly another sensation washed over her and she sighed. Ichigo was speeding towards it. She could feel his reiatsu, it curled trough her like a calm wind. But just as she was about to forget about the hollow, trusting Ichigo to finish the monster off before anyone got hurt, she felt something else there, skirting right behind him. And this power sent little eclectic flames to pulse through her body from her head to her toes. It was wild and ferocious but controlled. And powerful. She could feel the sheer pressure of it, curling itself up and out, ready for a battle. She was vaguely aware that someone was staring at her.

"Miss? The total is $28.75. Miss? Are you okay?"

"Oh, sorry!"

The cashier eyed her cautiously. She must have looked dazed. She felt dazed, she forced herself to stop trailing the new reiatsu that overwhelmed her and focus on getting her money out of the little Chappy Bunny adorned zippered bag attached to her cell phone. It was a Christmas gift from Rukia that she carried everywhere. She played with the small money bag as the cashier handed her the change. Worry tore at Tatsuki's gut. Usually Rukia accompanied Ichigo on the patrols and she had always felt Rukia fighting alongside him. The presence of another soul reaper could mean that she was hurt. She let her powers unwind themselves again as she searched for the girl she had become good friends with. She signed in relief as she pinpointed her. She was moving toward Ichigo and the unidentified shinigami. She no longer felt the hollow anywhere. She sighed. Her friends were safe. She allowed her powers to find the new reiatsu again. She let another thrill of raging sparks engulf her before shutting her extra sense down. The next time she felt a hollow she hoped she got there first. She really wanted to know who this new Soul Reaper was.


End file.
